As the FCA fines its first cartel, Diana Johnson considers the significance for competition lawyers
- Full FCA competition decision published in relation to the fines imposed on asset management firms for sharing strategic information.
On 22 May 2019, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the full text of a decision it made in February, in which it found three asset management firms to be in breach of competition law (the decision). The FCA has had competition powers since April 2015 when it was given the power to enforce competition law in the financial sector concurrently with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). However, this is first example of the FCA using its competition enforcement law powers and the fact that its competition law investigation has resulted in fines is likely to bolster the FCA’s confidence in this area.
The case involved a cartel of three asset management firms, whose employees acted together to share price sensitive information during an initial public offering and a placing, shortly before the share prices were set. This sharing of strategic information allowed the three firms to know
